Semiconductors Drive Export Growth...Up 23.5% Through the 20th of This Month (Updated)

Korea Customs Service, Export and Import Trends for February 1?20
Semiconductor Exports Up 134.1%

Exports are on the rise this month thanks to the semiconductor boom driven by the supercycle. Despite the number of working days being 2.5 days fewer than in the same period last year due to the Lunar New Year holidays, total exports increased by more than 23%.

According to the "Export and Import Trends for February 1-20" released by the Korea Customs Service on the 23rd, exports during this period amounted to 43.5 billion dollars, up 23.5% from the same period a year earlier.

Containers are waiting to be loaded at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

The number of working days was 13, which is 2.5 days fewer than in the same period last year (15.5 days). Taking this into account, average daily exports came to 3.35 billion dollars, an increase of 47.3%.

By item, exports of semiconductors (134.1%), petroleum products (10.5%), and computer peripherals (129.2%) increased compared with the same period a year earlier, while exports of passenger cars (-26.6%) and others decreased. As a result, the share of semiconductors in total exports expanded by 16.4 percentage points to 34.7%. By country, exports to all of the top 10 major trading partners increased, including China (30.8%), the United States (21.9%), Vietnam (17.6%), the European Union (EU, 11.4%), and Taiwan (76.4%).

Imports up to the 20th of this month totaled 38.6 billion dollars, an increase of 11.7% from the same period a year earlier. Imports of semiconductors (19.2%), crude oil (0.8%), and semiconductor manufacturing equipment (28.5%) increased, while imports of machinery (-6.0%) and others decreased. Imports from China (38.6%), the EU (10.5%), Vietnam (32.4%), and Taiwan (8.5%) increased, whereas imports from the United States (-3.2%) and Japan (-9.2%) declined.

The trade balance for February 1-20 posted a surplus of 4.949 billion dollars. As a result, the cumulative trade surplus from January 1 to the 20th of this month reached 13.664 billion dollars.